The Rise of the Platform Marketer: Performance Marketing with Google, Facebook, and Twitter, Plus the Latest High-Growth Digital Advertising Platforms

Chapter 2The Ad Tech Ecosystem

Special Contributor: Anudit Vikram

We take the Internet for granted. Today we simply assume that any information we may be looking for—an article to read, an article of clothing to wear, a vacation to plan, just about anything—can be found on the Internet. As a matter of fact, many of the details in this chapter have been researched on the Internet. We also assume that most, if not all, of the information we seek and find will be available to us for free. And the reason why we get what we want for free is because publishers that make the content available place advertisements on their pages. These ads help the publishers generate money that allows them to create the content we consume. The systems and processes that play a role in the ad being shown to us comprise the advertising technology (ad tech) ecosystem, which it's not a stretch to say is the major contributor to the ubiquity of the Internet.

Advertising is as Old as Time Itself

The ancient Egyptians carved public notices in stone as far back as 2000 B.C. In 1472, the first print ad was created in England announcing a prayer book for sale. Product branding came into being with the copy developed for Dentrifice Tooth Gel in 1661. The birth of the automobile gave rise to the billboard in 1835, and the first electric sign went up in Times Square in 1882. Radio advertising began in the 1920s and the first TV commercial ran in 1941.¹

In this 4,000-year journey, more than 500 years after the ...